A Sam’s Club membership costs $50 a year, or $110 for a Plus membership that gives you 2% cash back on purchases. For many people, those fees are more than worth paying.
But you might fall into certain traps when you join Sam’s Club. Here are a few drawbacks of shopping there you should know about.
1. You may have a harder time budgeting
The $50 or $110 membership fee you pay to join Sam’s Club could more than make up for itself in the form of savings on everyday purchases. But to reap those savings and give your savings account a boost, you generally have to buy those items in bulk. And that could make budgeting a lot harder.
Say your household commonly uses two rolls of toilet paper per week, and your local supermarket charges $1.29 per roll. At Sam’s Club, the current price for 45 rolls of Member’s Mark toilet paper is $22.98 online. That has you paying $0.51 per roll, which is clearly a lot less.
But if you only need two rolls per week, then you only have to shell out $2.58 per week. If you want to buy the bulk supply from Sam’s club, you have to spend almost 10 times that in a single purchase. If there isn’t room in your budget for that larger outlay, you could end up with a credit card bill you can’t pay off in full — and interest charges that eat away at your savings.
Of course, one thing that might help you work larger Sam’s Club purchases into your budget is using the right tools to manage your money. Click here for a list of the best budgeting apps. But otherwise, be careful with those larger Sam’s Club purchases, even if you’re getting a great price.
2. You may end up wasting food
You can save money on groceries at Sam’s Club by buying them in bulk. But when you buy perishables in bulk, you risk having items spoil on you before you finish them. And that’s not saving money — it’s wasting money.
You can reduce food waste by limiting bulk purchases to items your family eats almost daily. If you all drink milk every day, then yes, buy the gallon. And if you eat eggs most days of the week, then it could pay to buy the bulk pack. But if you only tend to eat strawberries once or twice a week, don’t buy a bulk haul from Sam’s Club, even if the price looks good.
For items you only eat on occasion, you may be better off paying more per ounce at a regular supermarket, but paying less all in. And if you swipe the right credit card at a regular supermarket, you can save even more in the form of cash back. Click here for a list of the best credit cards for grocery purchases.
3. You may end up making impulse purchases at the store
Sam’s Club is no ordinary store. You’ll find everything from housewares to electronics to apparel on the shelves. But this could lead to serious overspending. If you’re on a tight budget where shelling out the money for bulk purchases leaves you unable to pay your credit card bills in full, then impulse buys could wreak major havoc on your finances.
If you can’t trust yourself to avoid impulse purchases at Sam’s Club, you may want to stick to a regular grocery store. You could also try making a shopping list each time you go to Sam’s Club and staying out of aisles that don’t contain a list item. But whether you’re able to hold to that pledge is up to you.
Be honest with yourself. It’s not worth it to save $10 or $15 a week on groceries if you’re going to come out with $30 in impulse purchases you don’t need.
Although Sam’s Club offers great prices and other benefits, as a member, you risk falling into these traps. And while you can work around them using the tips above, you may ultimately need to ask yourself whether it’s worth it to continue shopping at Sam’s Club, or whether you’re better off canceling your membership.